Auditions, Suspicions, Contrition
by SketchyCord
Summary: The Marauders audition girls as dates for the next Ball. Lily tries to foil their plan, only to get wrapped up in it. But things are not as they appear, as each person is manipulating the situation. LOTS of love triangles. LilyxJames craziness!
1. Try Outs

**Try Outs**

"Too tall," Sirius remarked dismissively as he flipped over to the next sheet. James gave a deliberate nod of agreement, and Remus rolled his eyes at his two best, but not necessarily mature, friends.

"You guys, this is seriously stupid," groaned the one with the proclivity to roll his eyes in a show of disapprobation.

"Of course it's 'siriusly' stupid. I am the brains behind this operation," grinned the one with the shiny dark hair and the handsome smile, who also just so happened to be auditioning girls for the roll of "Sirius Black's Winter Ball Date." James too was in search of a companion for the Ball, but had had no luck thus far.

"That's a tacky line," Remus remarked, rolling his eyes once more before returning to reading his book in his lounging position against a rather large Beech tree by the lake.

"Not as tacky as that skirt, Padfoot," James said conspiratorially to Sirius, with a nod in the direction of the blonde girl standing hopefully in front of the two most eligible bachelors in the school. Sirius tilted his head to the side before letting out a disgusted noise.

"Right you are Prongs. That shade of magenta is abominable," Sirius said, tossing poor young Katie Smythe's file to the side.

"Ladies, we're taking a five minute recess, but we hope to see you all back after that," James called out with a wink. The thirty or so girls who'd been waiting in line giggled and sauntered off in the direction of the lake. The velvet rope separating the boys and the contestants, invisible to the eyes of teachers, made it so any girl who stepped within their circle was magically bound as their date to the ball. A tricky piece of magic, but James and Sirius hadn't had much trouble with it.

"What a remarkably bland group," lamented Sirius as he looked through the remaining applications. James seemed rather uninterested, but no one seemed to take much notice. The papers contained information including height, weight, eye color, extracurricular activities, and grades.

"I have got to say. This is undoubtedly one of _the _most prick-ish things you guys have ever resorted to in all our years of friendship," Remus said. "It's sickening to watch."

"Oi, Remus, I _asked _you if you wanted to go with me, but you said you'd rather hang round with Peter in the common room," Sirius said. James whipped out his binoculars, or something of the sort as he began scanning the crowd of hopefuls afresh.

"Actually, I _have _a date, thank you very much," Remus said. The Marauders disguised their surprise poorly. It wasn't really that Remus was bad looking, but the truth was that he rarely got out much.

"Well then, congratulations Moony. Who's the lucky bird," James asked. Peter looked a bit jealous.

"Annabelle von Blume," Remus replied without looking up from his book. James's jaw dropped, and even Sirius lost composure.

"_What_? That hot blonde chick that Lily hangs round with all the time," James demanded in shock.

"The very one," Remus said, smiling for the first time that day. His eyes suddenly acquired a dreamy quality that was at once sweet and utterly grotesque to his friends.

"How'd you manage that one Moony," Sirius asked, as crowds of girls began advancing back toward the Marauders, hungry gleams in many of their eyes.

"I said, 'Hello Annabelle, nice to see you. You look great today, that dress really compliments your eyes. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to accompany me to the Winter Ball,'" Remus said flatly, though unable to suppress a smile at the ridiculous expressions on his friends' faces. Excepting Peter, who was rather peeved that it was apparent he'd be alone in the common room the night of the ball, his dear Remus nowhere in sight.

"WHAT! That _works_," James cried in disbelief, while running his hands through his hair hurriedly; the girls had returned to audition once again.

"Well, welcome back my lovely women, to **The Winter Ball Tryouts: Sirius Black and James Potter Edition**." Sirius had meant to continue with his completely flagrantly conceited, stupid speech when a certain red haired, green-eyed witch entered their midst.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here," Lily demanded in a huff. She marched right past the velvet ropes and into the boys' circle. A hint of triumph gleamed in James's eye.

"Well, darling Lily, you've just made yourself _my _date to the Winter Ball," James smiled charmingly. Sirius gave him a congratulatory high five. Lily uncurled her clenched wrists and stared ahead blankly, before feeling furious again.

"What the hell Potter? You can't just go around declaring that people are your dates without even asking. And you certainly should not be comparing girls like they're cows in a pasture," Lily exclaimed.

"So you do know what's going on here," James cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms. Lily rolled her eyes, in a move reminiscent of Remus.

"Of course I do. The whole bloody school does. It's beside the point Potter. I won't _let you_ do this," Lily stated coolly.

"Oh really, someone's rather important aren't they," Sirius snorted. "Too bad you've already been bound by a _very _effective, and might I add irreversible spell, as James's date, Lily," Sirius smirked. He was glad Lily was being forced into submission; she was always acting as though she was so much better than James.

"What! Explain, now," Lily snapped. The girls in the line began to get agitated at waiting, and at the fact that it appeared as though James was taken.

"Well, there happens to be a little charm on this velvet roped circle that binds whichever girls allowed in it bound as my date to the dance," James said. Remus felt a twinge of sympathy for Lily, but couldn't help being a little happy that James appeared to be on the verge of having his dream date for the next dance. He was one of his best friends, after all.

"Well, you or Sirius," Peter said meekly, just loud enough that Lily could hear. James slowly turned his head toward Peter and looked as though he might slice his head off right then and there.

"Wait a second, you're saying I can choose Potter or Black," Lily said, a smirk forming on her mouth. "Well then, I choose Black," she cackled madly.

"WHAT," James cried in protest.

"_What_," Sirius shrieked.

"What," Lily asked innocently. "I'll let you know the color I want for my corsage ASAP…Sirius darling," Lily giggled, prancing off and hopping over the velvet rope giddily. The boys stared out into the distance, each feeling unique emotions.

AN: Sooo, hope you liked it. I intend this to be a multichapter fic, and I can update quite often. Please, please, _please _review, whether or not you liked it, and if you want me to continue, please let me know. Thanks very much. ~Gabby


	2. Tell Me What Your Best Friend Knows

**Tell Me What Your Best Friend Knows**

That night in the common room, Lily and Annabelle were looking through dress catalogues for the Ball. Being that it was still very early in the year, the girls weren't yet too worried about their NEWT classes.

"I was thinking…maybe…magenta," Lily said to Annabelle, who nodded in agreement.

"Doll, I'm sorry, but pink is _nawt _you color. It'll clash with your hair," Sirius said as he sat down on the couch next to Lily. She glared daggers at him.

"Though I _refuse _to think going to the Ball with you would be worse than going with Potter, you might just give that experience a run for its money," Lily said angrily. Annabelle rolled her eyes and left the common room to go to dinner. This left the room empty, except for Lily and Sirius.

"Touchy, touchy sweetheart. I thought you were supposed to be a nice girl," Sirius said airily, flipping through the catalogue. "Maybe you would have been better off going with James. He really likes you. A lot. And I think he's upset." Sirius chanced a glance at Lily to see her reaction.

"Yeah, right," Lily snorted. "Potter maybe 16 biologically, but he has the emotional capacity of a teaspoon."

"Whatever snookums. Let's go to dinner, shall we?" Sirius's eyes looked dull and unhappy. Maybe that was because they were grey. Maybe there was another reason.

"Sure," she said. After a few moment's consideration, she continued speaking. "Black? Are you upset you're going with me," Lily asked. The two of them got up from their place on the couch and made their way toward the door.

"Eh…well, no per se, it's just that…well, I suspect James is a bit mad at me right now," he said. They walked down the first set of stairs and made a left before Lily picked up the conversation again.

"If it has to do with me, I'm sorry, but you have to understand that…" and Lily trailed off.

"I get it, I think," Sirius said, sadness in his tone, but a mischievous smile gracing his lips. Lily smirked and gave him a hug outside the Great Hall.

"See you later…" she said, arms still around his neck. James and Peter chose that exact moment to come across the pair of them. Sirius didn't notice, but Lily did. Peter whispered something to James, who looked pretty upset. He trudged off toward the stairs. "Er, bye," she muttered in Sirius's ear, running off in James's direction. Sirius entered the Hall.

**xxxx**

"Potter," Lily gasped, out of breath, when she came upon him at the top of the stairs. James leaned back and forth on his heels awkwardly.

"So…I guess…you and Sirius are an item then," James said.

"Uh, no, no we're not," Lily replied quickly. "I was just hugging him goodbye, you know, as a friend."

"I don't think girls and boys can really be friends," James said though. "Not at our age, anyway. And I wasn't necessarily talking about the hug. I meant more the fact that you're his date to the ball."

"Yeah well, we are, me and Black and friends," Lily said, purposefully ignoring his last remark about the ball. James pretended not to notice and shrugged.

"Are we friends Lily," he asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Uh…" she took a moment to answer. Truthfully, she didn't know if she and James were friends. The honest answer was probably "no."

"Nah, it's okay, I think we both know the answer to that," James said dryly. "Look, I know you think I'm an arrogant prick, and…well, you're kind of right. But I've been trying to change, Lily." He looked down at his shoes.

"I…James, we may not be friends, but," and she squeezed her eyes shut, "There might be something here. I think I have feelings for you." But when Lily opened her eyes again, hoping to see James's laughing hazel eyes, he was gone.

**xxxx**

A while later, Lily and her friends sat in their dormitory, rehashing the gory details for the thousandth time.

"And I said that to him, and then he was gone," Lily wailed, pulling at the ends of her red hair in desperation. The girls shared looks of sympathy.

"Lily, I'm so sorry," said Karin. She rose from her bed to sit with Lily on hers.

"Yeah me too Lils. Let's castrate him," Katelyn said.

"Well, this is _James Potter_ we're talking about; what'd you expect," Morgan asked, tugging on her bangs.

"Well, I would expect you to shut it, Pettrigrew," Katelyn snapped at her best friend. The two tended to clash on issues of the heart, though they agreed on many other things.

"I guess he couldn't handle it…I guess he never really wanted me at all," Lily sighed, drawing her knees to her chest.

**xxxx**

"I don't know what's going on with Lily and James," Annabelle admitted. Remus nodded his head. "She might like him, I don't really know. It's a lot more complicated than it seems, I think."

"Yeah, I know. Frankly, their seem to be a lot of ulterior motives whirring around here," Remus said, taking a spoonful of soup into his mouth. Annabelle nodded.

"I think Peter might be up to something," Annabelle said, casually slipping her hand into Remus's. He blushed fervently, but tried to focus on the conversation.

"Um…yes, I got that impression too. But I'm not sure yet what exactly is going on. Do you have any insights," he asked.

"He was talking to Morgan about something this morning in hushed tones, and well, they don't usually talk much," she said. Remus nodded, taking the information in. He glanced around the table, looking for his friends for the first time that night. He'd been a bit preoccupied with his girlfriend. But upon perusing the area for his friends, he realized none were there, except Sirius, who was gloomily spooning porridge into his mouth, ignoring a bunch of chattering female admirers, and scanning the table for someone who apparently wasn't there.

"Ah, he's not here," Remus murmured. "I've got to go find some of my friends, excuse me," he said, tilting his head to the side and kissing Annabelle's cheek. He gestured for Sirius to come with him, and the two of them walked up the Gryffindor Tower.

**xxxx**

Hours after dinner, the Marauders were reunited in the boy's dormitory.

"I better go talk to Lily now," James said. He and his friends were doing homework (a rare occurrence) so they'd have time for some fun after detention that night.

"Prongs, are you mad at me," Sirius asked.

"No, Padfoot, why would you think that," James replied.

"Err…dunno, it's just, you seemed kind of upset when you saw me hugging Lily today," he answered. Remus looked up and arched an eyebrow before continuing to scrawl out some notes on his parchment.

"Well, I was at first, but Lily and I talked, and then we didn't talk, because Peter here decided to throw the cloak over me, use a silent-silencing charm on my person, and then drag me off," James said scowling.

"Nice work, Wormtail m'boy," Sirius said, in laudation for a prank-well-executed. "You should go see her mate, and explain yourself." Peter grinned widely. Remus looked rather less pleased.

"You're right Padfoot, I will," James murmured, slipping out of the room.

**xxxx**

"Um, hello," James called up to the girl's dorm from the bottom of the steps. He knew, after having tried to see Lily up there many times, that it was impossible to scale those steps if you were of the male gender. His voice carried through the door, and the girls heard him faintly from their room.

"Hold on a sec, Lils, I'll be right back," said Katelyn. Lily sniffled and nodded. She marched out the door and walked straight down the stairs, not surprised to see James at the bottom of them.

"Long time no chat, James," Katelyn said evenly, a small smirk on her full mouth. James blushed crimson, noticing the girl who'd answered his call. Observing this, Katelyn crossed her arms and tossed her long mane of golden hair. "What, James, embarrassed to see me in this capacity?"

"Uh…no, I just…would think that…well, I thought you were very mad at me, and you have every right…" James murmured.

"Listen up, James, I don't care that you used me to get to Lily. I've put those feelings aside for the sake of the team, as you well know. My concern now is that you've crushed my best friend by taking off when she was trying to confess her feelings to you," said Katelyn smoothly. Even with these assurances, James felt quite nervous. She had a commanding physical presence, and wasn't that much shorter than James himself.

"Well…alright, and well, I'm sorry for what I did, and you should know that none of that influenced by choice to make you Seeker," James said. She nodded in a business-like manner.

"Do you want to see her," she asked brusquely.

"Yeah…" he replied.

"I'm guessing something inexorable occurred which caused you to run off," Katelyn said, all the while applying an incantation to the stairs to allow James to pass up them.

"Yes," James said.

"Okay then. Good luck," she said, eyeing him warily. The two entered the dormitory at the same time.

"Uh…Lily…uh," James stuttered uncontrollably. Her head, which had been bent down, hidden behind a curtain of red hair, shot up the moment he said her name. She seemed to consider him for a moment with a quizzical brow.

"Potter. Get. Out. Of. My. Room. _Now_," she said, rising to her feet and picking up her wand.

"Look, Lily, I can explain," James began, but she cut him off. Lily approached him, looking mutinous, and he began to back out of the room.

"JAMES POTTER, IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY SIGHT THIS MOMENT, I AM GOING TO HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION, YOU ARROGANT WASTE OF SPACE," Lily yelled at the top of her lungs. Something in James, who had appeared nervous until that instant, snapped.

"LILY, IF YOU'D JUST LET ME EXPLAIN…PETER PULLED A PRANK ON ME AND--"

"HOW BIG OF YOU TO BLAME PETTIGREW FOR THIS, JA--POTTER! CLEARLY YOU'RE A _COWARD _WHO TAKES ME FOR A FOOL. I WARNED YOU," she shrieked, hexing him into oblivion as promised.

**xxxx**

"What were you thinking, actually letting him in there to see Lily, without warning no less," Sirius demanded of Katelyn. The two of them stood outside the doors to the hospital wing; their friends were inside visiting.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sirius. Anyone would've done it," Katelyn said smoothly. She looked into his handsome face with a hard expression on hers.

"Come off it, Katie. I know you," Sirius said coolly.

"Oh really? I think James knows me better, why don't we ask him what my motives were," Katelyn replied.

"James knows as well as I that you resent what happened between...you two, and now you're just using Lily--"

"I would never use a friend Sirius, unlike you," she said with a sneer. The two of them had drawn their wands when Lily herself approached the two of them.

"Put down your wands," Lily commanded in a calm tone. Both complied, but now without hesitation. "How's James?" As she said this, Lily looked shameful.

"He's going to be fine…but he may be in their for a few days," Sirius replied.

"I feel terrible, what was I thinking…" Lily sighed, dropping to the floor. "I mean, I hate him, I hate him, but then I don't…"

"Lily it's not your fault. _You_ wouldn't have talked to him in the state of mind you were in, or let him in the room, if you'd been given a proper choice," Sirius said, patting Lily's shoulder and glaring at Katelyn.

"But _you _would come onto the girl your best friend's bonkers over outside his hospital room," Katelyn snapped bitterly.

"Now that's rubbish," Sirius began to protest, but as he was speaking, Remus and Annabelle opened the door to the hospital wing, hitting Sirius's head. Katelyn burst out laughing.

"Serves you right, Sirius! Karma's a bitch," Katelyn cackled. Remus rolled his eyes and Annabelle stifled a giggle. Lily looked mortified, but it was hard to say at what.

"Funny, the only bitch I see here is you," Sirius spat, recovering swimmingly.

"Be quiet you guys, James is resting in there," Lily said, and with that she disappeared into the room. Peter was sitting in there, laughing, as James had just told him a joke.

"Hi Lily," James said, addressing only her, even though many people had entered the room.

"James…hi…I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, but you should know, I was trying to tell you the truth…"

"Uh, okay--sure," Lily said, but she didn't sound entirely convinced.

"Honestly, I can't remember everything, it seems that lovely hex you used on me wiped out a bit of my memory…" James said. Peter giggled, barely audibly.

"Oh…so…you don't remember what I said to you on the stairs," Lily asked.

"Not really," James said mildly. "But I'm sorry for whatever happened."

"Oh. Well. Right." There was awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Yeah, so anyway, I was wondering…"

"Uh, well, I best be going," Lily said. "Sirius, we need to discuss some stuff, so come meet me later or something." She stuck her head down, facing the floor, and had been and still was so preoccupied with James and pretending she didn't care about what had happened that she didn't bother to notice that Sirius and the others had left the room nearly 10 minutes before.

"I can't believe this all originated from that moronic idea of date tryouts…bugger…" James muttered, turning on his side to sleep, and pondering the question of who he would take to the ball…

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_AN: So, hope you liked it! I really, really would like at least __**5 **__reviews for this chapter before the next update. Please tell me what you thought of the additional characters (Lupin, Katelyn, Sirius, Annabelle, etc), and of course, the LilyxJames interaction! Everything is about to get a bit more complicated. Title of chapter taken from the All Time Low song of the same name. : ) PLEASE REVIEW. Much love. ~Gabby_


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